addiction and self ban

[Cole ll]

Hello everyone,
Being completely ignorant in programming, I wanted to know if a code was simple to create to give a player the possibility of banning themselves, within a period that they could define. This is no longer the case but I had difficulty in the past playing less time because this game like others is very addictive. This self-ban could help players regulate themselves and stop the addiction. (without harassing Kierra to get banned, who is a great listener and understanding) It's a loss of players for the game but a help for those who can't reason about time games. All respectful video games should offer this opportunity i guess. seeu !

[blast]

You could uninstall the game for a bit. The configuration directory won't get removed, so when you reinstall it all your settings will still be there.

[Cole ll]

the idea is to not be able to play even when the desire to play takes over. Resinstalation only takes a minute and does not slow down.

[kierra]

Oh Cole ll, it’s never a problem to help you out…whatever you need.

Cheers, my friend

[Zehra]

For the means to do so by server, it can be done with a plug-in. The autoban system of nearly any plug-in can be adapted to work with a slash command and provide a ban of limited duration.(I'd recommend it having a predefined ban reason to prevent confusion with "normal" bans.)

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For the means to do so locally, while it may be bypassed easily, it may have some worth. Have a script swap out the configuration files with a dummy/non-working list server, and have servers added to "ServerAccess.txt" to prevent joining servers as unregistered. Additionally either the same script or a different one should have the means to undo such changes. You also may wish to have a temporary file written to provide a means of added a timed delay and prevent reverting of changes before said delay.

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I do not have the time for writing either solution, but if help is needed or if anything may be clarified, let me know.

-Zehra

[etigah]

This is not meant to be practical, but just for the sake of entertaining the idea.. You could use an online password generator to create a hard to remember password for bz, make sure to not save it any where and then use a service to email you the password on a future date of your choice.

[trpted]

Why do you need software (either server side or client side) to do that, instead of regulating your self?

There is software to tell how much time an user (exs: you, your kids) have spent/used on the computer.

[lep]

Oh Cole ll, it’s never a problem to help you out…whatever you need.

Cheers, my friend

This reply cracked me up

[Zehra]

This is not meant to be practical, but just for the sake of entertaining the idea.. You could use an online password generator to create a hard to remember password for bz, make sure to not save it any where and then use a service to email you the password on a future date of your choice.

I'd imagine some players quickly selecting "forget my password".

Along the lines of something impractical, it would be having an application switching the email and password seeded to a future date and only letting the app reveal/regenerate the seeds for present and past dates.

Why do you need software (either server side or client side) to do that, instead of regulating your self?

There is software to tell how much time an user (exs: you, your kids) have spent/used on the computer.

It's like asking people to always be reasonable and logical.(Kaguya's impossible tasks happen to be way easier.)

[Cole ll]

Thank you Zehra for your response, Yes I was thinking a server command like /selfban 3months for example which would work on the map where we are writing, then with a confirmation request. In fact I don't know if addiction is a phenomenon that affects many adult players... it's a broader problem than video games but this command can simply help those who can't, for different reasons to regulate themselves and who wishes to do so.
I hadn't thought of doing it this way Eti, it's a more convoluted solution but it works! Thank you for your feedback

[Zehra]

Your welcome Cole II, originally I had the idea of creating game play sessions some years back. Players would enter a slash command such as /timer 45 which would kick a player after 45 minutes and perhaps provide a bit of a warning/heads up 5 or 10 minutes before.(This is different from the counters/timers generally used which apply to all players, since it would be for players to use for themselves.) I believe it is easy to get addicted to nearly anything, games in particular are one aspect. For many, BZFlag provides community, connections, relationships, hobbies and even far more. In general we're also at a point in the game where these have become more limited and perhaps seemingly more meaningful than before. I think everyone here does wish to savor the good times and moments for as long as possible. At the same time, it's a very familiar and comfy place for the most part and also has proved to be meaningful at times. It's very much understandable of how easy it can be to become addicted to a game.

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I roughly worked out most of the pseudocode for them.

Roughly for the plug-in:

Code: Select all

SlashCommandStuff:

if (params == 2) {

    if (param2 Is not a number or not above zero in value) {
      displayCommandUsage();
    } else {
      if (param1 == "hour" or param1 == "hours") {
        selfBanForHours(time);
      } else if (param1 == "day" or param1 == "days") {
        selfBanForDays(time);
      } else if (param1 == "week" or param1 == "weeks") {
        selfBanForWeeks(time);
      } else if (param1 == "month" or param1 == "months") {
        selfBanForDays(time);
      } else {
        displayCommandUsage();
      }
    }
    
} else {
  displayCommandUsage();
}

---

For the script:

Code: Select all

configFileLocation = "path/to/config/file"
renamevalue="config-real.cfg"
fakeconfig="fake-value.cfg"
configfilename="config.cfg"

if renamevalue doesn't exist as file
  rename file configfilename to renamevalue
  rename file fakeconfig to confilefigname
  echo "Done"

Undo script:

Code: Select all

configFileLocation = "path/to/config/file"
renamevalue="config-real.cfg"
fakeconfig="fake-value.cfg"
configfilename="config.cfg"

if fakeconfig doesn't exist as file
  rename file confilefigname to fakeconfig
  rename file renamevalue to configfilename
  echo "Done"

-Zehra

[Cole ll]

True, here there is always a player to listen, discuss, give an opinion in a caring manner. I only know this game so I can't compare but I think it's not the same everywhere. And in the end, few means are offered in the games to allow addicted players to stop. In casinos you can ask to be banned, the possibility should be allowed in games. Thanks for this great code work Zehra, I'll try to work on all of this if I build a map one day.
See you